ISTEP scores available for parents to review

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Parents can now check their children’s ISTEP scores online, but those scores are not necessarily final. Currently, only parents and schools have access to preliminary ISTEP scores.

This comes after months of controversy surrounding the exams and students’ scores. Usually, the scores are released during the summer. 24-Hour News 8’s news partners at the Daily Journal report parents can ask the state to re-evaluate the score, if they think their child should have scored differently. Testing officials would then review essay questions and open-ended responses again. It’s unlikely the re-score would add more than 10 points to your child’s test, according 24-Hour News 8’s partners at The Republic.

Once the re-scoring process is complete, the scores will be finalized and made available to the public. The re-scoring process should take about two weeks, and final scores should be released in mid-December.

This is the first year for a new set of exams. Outside experts said the online and paper versions of the new test differed in degree of difficulty. Because of that, it took the State Board of Education longer than usual to decide what would be a passing score. The SBOE just came to a decision last month.

State officials have warned school districts that their scores will likely be lower this year. Gov. Mike Pence and State Superintendent Glenda Ritz, who are often at odds, both agree teachers should not be penalized for ISTEP scores this year.

Parents can click here to check the scores.